The present invention relates to a conveyor for garment hangers, comprising an endless mechanism disposed slidably inside sections with an upwardly open, longitudinal slot, said mechanism having carriers which project through said slot (6) to push a garment hanger along said conveyor.
In connection with the industrial handling of clothes, for example washing, it is normal for these to be conveyed between certain stations by means of a conveyor. Usually a chain/link conveyor is used, which consists of an endless loop of chains or links and by means of which the garment hangers are moved along the conveyor. Often a conveyor of this kind is constructed by means of modules comprising sections, which are coupled together in the desired manner, each section consisting of a housing which is essentially U-shaped in cross-section with the opening upwards, through which a carrier projects, which is arranged on the loop, which is disposed slidably inside the connected sections. The outer contour of the U-shaped cross-section has a top side which is adapted to the curve of a garment hanger hook, so that the garment hanger can be moved securely, sliding along the conveyor without it swaying about its vertical axis, which could otherwise cause problems. In addition, special sliding elements are suitably disposed inside grooves in the sections, which serve as running surfaces but also have the purpose of reducing friction and preventing joints from occurring between sections.
This known form of conveyor has many advantages and is therefore used to a large extent. One of these advantages is that the garment hangers are positioned in a very secure manner at right angles to the direction of transportation, thanks to the shape, which thus interacts with the garment hanger in such a way that the hanger is not permitted to sway about the vertical axis of the hanger hook, but holds the hanger and thus the garment securely in a perpendicular position relative to the direction of transportation.
However, it has proved to be the case that certain operations cannot be executed without problems in connection with such positioning of the garment on the conveyor. For example, when scanning a bar code or a transponder, which may be present on the article of clothing, it can be difficult to perform this scanning reliably if the garment is positioned at right angles to the direction of advance. It is thus desirable in certain cases to have the garment hanger positioned essentially parallel to the direction of advance, so that a scanning unit situated parallel to the belt can perform scanning securely as the garment passes by.
It is previously known through EP-B-551049 to change the structure of the feed screw on worm conveyors so that the garment hanger is turned to become positioned parallel to the direction of advance in connection with passage past a scanning unit, so that reliable scanning can be carried out. However, it is not desirable in connection with chain/link conveyors to add a further feed device, in the form of a worm conveyor, to the conveyor already existing, as this causes practical complications and also results in a considerable additional cost.
The object of the present invention is to eliminate or at least reduce the problems mentioned above by means of a conveyor for garment hangers comprising an endless mechanism disposed inside sections with a longitudinal slot, said mechanism having carriers which project through said slot and said sections having first sliding surfaces, which are arranged in such a way that a garment hanger is positioned essentially at right angles to the direction of advance of the conveyor, characterized in that disposed between two sections is a part with a second sliding surface formed in such a way that the hanger can be turned to a position which is essentially parallel with regard to the direction of transportation.
This solution has many advantages. Above all, it means that the same endless loop can be used both to obtain secure positioning of the garment hanger in a perpendicular position in relation to the direction of transportation along the sections where this positioning is advantageous, and also to obtain positioning of the hanger in a position which is parallel to the direction of transportation along parts of the conveyor where this is desirable, for example with a view to being able to facilitate reliable scanning of markings on the garment on the hanger. Above all, the need to install further conveyors is eliminated by these means, reducing the cost considerably.
According to further aspects according to the invention, it holds good that:
said second sliding surface (14) is disposed on a bar (16) with a shaping which permits the hanger (7) to be turned about the vertical axis of the hanger hook,
said bar (16) has a maximum thickness in its horizontal cross-direction of less than 20 mm, preferably a maximum thickness of between 3 and 12 mm, and more preferably between 6 and 10 mm,
said bar (16) has a circular cross-section,
said bar is placed by the mechanism (2) so that it follows the extension of this and at a distance in relation to this which is less than the length of said carrier (8),
said part (30) comprises a sharp bend (18), preferably approx. 90xc2x0,
an operating unit (22), preferably with scanning organs, most preferably a so-called aerial screen, is positioned adjacent to said bend (18),
said operating unit (22) comprises a level wall (24), which is disposed in a plane which is essentially parallel to the direction of advance of the conveyor (2) following the bend (18),
said second sliding surface (14) at each end of said part (30) is disposed at essentially the same height and in essentially the same vertical plane as the first sliding surface (12) in each adjoining section (4A, 4B),
the bar (16) has a first part (16A) which is disposed directed obliquely upwards in relation to the direction in which the sliding surface (12) extends at the end of said adjoining section (4A) and a second part (16B) extends essentially horizontally and connects to said bend (18),
the bar comprises a third part (16C) which extends essentially horizontally on the other side of said bend (18) and a fourth part (16D) disposed directed obliquely downwards in relation to the longitudinal direction in which said adjoining section (4B) extends,
each section (4) has longitudinal recesses (26), which have an essentially circular cross-section and arranged inside which are said sliding surfaces (10, 12), the bar (16) inserting into one of said recesses (26) at the end of each adjoining section (4A, 4B), preferably in contact with a sliding element (12), so that the occurrence of joints is eliminated or reduced,
a second bar (28), is disposed extending in parallel with said first and second part of the bar (16A, 16B),
a stop device (32) is disposed along the third part (16C) of the bar at a limited height above this, with the aim of preventing the hangers from being pushed off as a consequence of the movement of the carrier (8),
said slot (6) is open upwardly and is disposed between two sliding elements which form said first sliding surfaces (10, 12), and
said mechanism (2) is formed by a chain/link mechanism, which is disposed slidably inside said sections (4).
Further scope of the applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.